Zinc oxide nanowires‐based flexible pressure sensor

Abstract Embedding piezoelectric nanowires within a soft elastomer material should provide a superior pressure sensing transducer, exploiting the piezoelectric properties of the nanowire material while maintaining flexibility. Here, a flexible sensor has been fabricated on a Kapton substrate and has incorporated a layer of polydimethylsiloxane with embedded zinc oxide nanowires as the pressure sensing mechanism. In response to applied compressive pressure up to 127 kPa, the device has generated a voltage, between electrodes on either side of the nanowire/polydimethylsiloxane layer, with a sensitivity of 23.6 mV/kPa, which is 100 times greater than previously reported zinc oxide nanostructure‐based flexible sensors.